2026 has kicked off and a month has already passed while the new year began with festivities, the picture was not too rosy for all, as with it came another round of layoffs and firings in the tech industry, it seems like the new common these days as the engine moves forward.

January the starting month itself saw fresh cuts in tech industry with giants like Amazon and Meta laying off their workforce. The magnitude at which layoffs were carried out might have been less than what it was in the preceding years; fear of job losses still lingers. The main threat here is AI taking over roles that require code writing for software and task automation in small businesses and big tech as well as startups that have started to shift this burden to AI.

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How Many Jobs Were Lost?

Last year, in 2025, tech layoffs were to the tune of 123,941, from 269 companies; that number is just a little less than Kiribati's current population. Even though this number showcases a decline from 2024, according to the layoffs tracker Layoffs. FYI. This might make it seem like the picture is brighter, but what was different in 2025 was that the role of AI became clearly evident. According to a consulting firm, Challenger, Gary & Christmas, almost 55,000 people lost their jobs in the US in 2025. The reason? AI.

If we go by a survey that the World Economic Forum (WEF) conducted in 2025, around 41 per cent of companies might be planning layoffs over the course of the next five years. There were similar sentiments that echoed at the WEF meet that happened in Davos recently; even though tech leadership pointed towards the creation of more jobs with the advent and progress of AI, reports of jobs lost due to AI still dominated the discussion, where the other side suggested otherwise.

Big Tech Takes The Lead In Layoffs

Amazon

On Wednesday, January 29, Amazon announced it will cut around 16,000 corporate jobs worldwide, marking its largest layoff since October 2025, when 14,000 employees were let go. Earlier reports had suggested the company might reduce up to 30,000 positions. Amazon had previously linked layoffs to growing AI adoption, calling it “the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet” in an internal note last year.

However, CEO Andy Jassy later told analysts that the reductions weren’t primarily driven by finances or AI, but rather by excess bureaucracy within the company. Beth Galetti, senior VP of people experience and technology, also described the move as part of broader efforts to streamline operations.

Pinterest

This company want to layoff over 15 per cent of its employees which forms a part of its global restructuring plan, according to report by Business Insider, additionalyy office spaces will also be squeezed.

“We are making organisational changes to further deliver on our AI-forward strategy, which includes hiring AI-proficient talent,” a Pinterest spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Meta

Meta is planning to reduce about 10% of its Reality Labs workforce, which develops products like virtual reality headsets and social VR platforms, according to The New York Times. Reality Labs employs roughly 15,000 people, working on the Quest mixed-reality headsets, smart glasses in collaboration with EssilorLuxottica’s Ray-Ban, and augmented-reality devices. The metaverse project, heavily backed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has reportedly cost the company over $60 billion since 2020.

TCS

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is also planning to downsize. This will be a 2 per cent planned cut for the March quarter. In July of 2025 the company had iterated that it plans to cut about 12,000 jobs in financial year 2025-26.

Larger Implications

With tech giants leading the layoff race and statistics pointing towards adoption of AI as the primary reason, the question on the use and limited use of AI arises. The largest section of workers that lose their jobs are the ones in lower and middle management, where the premium of human decision-making is being taken over by AI. Repetitive tasks have been automated, and the human workforce has been replaced.

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But is the picture all grim? Experts at the WEF annual gathering in Davos argued that although market disruption is inevitable, AI will supposedly bring in more jobs and opportunities while the previous ones diminish. This sure shows optimism by leaders at the meet, but with companies rampantly laying off employees in the name of AI, fears of its larger impact loom large.